Star Scientific asking for new trial

Petersburg-based Star Scientific is asking a district court to throw out a jury verdict that ruled its patents to reduce carcinogens in tobacco products were invalid.

Star Scientific, a manufacturer of smokeless tobacco products, says it will file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals if its motion for a new trial is denied.

In June, a jury ruled that Reynolds American Inc. did not violate Star Scientifics’ patent to reduce cancer-causing agents and said those patents were invalid. Star sought hundreds of millions of dollars from Reynolds, claiming it had used Star’s technology to reduce the level of nitrosamines, a carcinogen, in cigarettes. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)